The Zurich Opera House celebrates the fascinating diversity of Baroque music with a new annual festival. A rich programme of operas, concerts, chamber music, family concerts and performances invites both connoisseurs and newcomers to immerse themselves in the world of early music for ten days. At the heart of the festival’s first edition is the premiere of the rarely performed tragédie "Scylla et Glaucus" by the French composer Jean-Marie Leclair. Cecilia Bartoli can be heard in the title role of George Frideric Handel’s "Giulio Cesare". Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky makes his Zurich Opera House debut as a conductor with Handel’s "Aci, Galatea e Polifemo". Further concert highlights include Johann Sebastian Bach’s two great Passions, performed by Orchestra La Scintilla and the Zürcher Sing-Akademie ("St John Passion") and by Ensemble Pygmalion under the direction of Raphaël Pichon ("St Matthew Passion"). Together with Concerto Köln, soprano Jeanine De Bique presents a programme featuring works by Handel and his contemporaries.
The first edition of "Zürich Barock" celebrated a successful launch in March 2026. Over ten days, the early music festival brought together internationally renowned artists and ensembles such as Cecilia Bartoli, Philippe Jaroussky, Raphaël Pichon, Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d’Astrée and Ensemble Pygmalion with Orchestra La Scintilla and other partners in Zurich. With opera productions, concerts and a wide range of encounters with Baroque music, "Zürich Barock" established itself as a festival that combines historically informed performance practice with contemporary artistic perspectives.
Here you can find all the best-of photos from the first edition of "Zürich Barock".
Photos: Gaetan Bally, Monika Rittershaus, Djamila Grossmann, Toni Suter
